Expedition tow vehicle

[Dmich91]

Hi all. We are looking to buy our first travel trailer. Our tow vehicle is a 2013 Ford Expedition with the tow package. Up to 9200 pounds. We are looking at a travel trailer with a dry weight of 6400 pounds and a gross weight of 8500 pounds. Our salesman seems to be confident that we won't have issues because we won't travel with all tanks full. We are new to this and want opinions from people that have experience. Any info is appreciated. We want to be able to pull on all terrains in the US.

[MFL]

Thanks for the update! Hope you and family enjoy the new trailer!

Jerry

[Dmich91]

Update: we found our trailer. So glad we waited. Our dry weight is 5175, gross is 6700. We take delivery next week. ?? I think the expedition will be fine. Thanks again everyone for your replies.

[travelnman]

We tow a 08 Keystone Springdale 6200 lbs dry weight with a 04 suburban 5.3 liter and 3.73 axel. Its at its limit in the wind or up steep grades. Turning
the air off helps a lot. On smooth flat land its no problem at all even with
the air on but my next vehicle will be with a larger motor. We go to Branson
often and climb those hills pretty well with the air off but it gets very warm
down there and can stress everyone out. I'm surprised at how well the 5.3
handles the load without the air on so its a question of how comfortable you
want to be on the road. The new expedition 2018 looks like a great vehicle
for towing but I would talk with others before buying one to see how well that
new turbo six handles your RV. They say the HP is higher than the old expedition
and the torque as well but we will wait to see if folks agree. I talked with
a camper who went through several transmissions on new Ford truck, they were
replaced under warranty but he couldn't use his RV all summer. That's another
thought. Ask around this could just be a one time experience and he could have been over loaded which puts a lot of stress on everything.

[Slowmover]

horton333 wrote:

mbutts wrote:
I towed with an Expy and went from a 4,400 lbs. 25' trailer to a 7,700 lbs. 32' trailer. The rear of the Expy was just too squishy (independent rear suspension and non-truck tires) and I was very uncomfortable towing with it.

I would suggest keeping your shopping list down to trailers with a gross weight of 6,000 lbs.

The independent rear suspension is a significant advantage of the SUV in that weight class, more stable, ...

Stability by design is everything. This is a better TV than a Suburban or pickup. Better solo as well.

Now apply same criteria to TT: aero design, low center of gravity and independent suspension. Go find a nice used Airstream. Indefinite lifespan.

The box TTs aren't worth having, IMO. Crude design, bad construction, poor stability. Generally won't last as long as the finance note.

I found my latest when it was 22-years old. Like new interior and zero leaks. An old competitor, Silver Streak.

"Weight" "payload" etc, are not first order problems. They are second or third. Stability ranks far higher.

Road problems that will cause a pickup to roll over just leave the better vehicle spun around. Etc. That matters. A few hundred pounds is neither here nor there for a vacationer.

Take your time.

[colliehauler]

Dmich91 wrote:
That's what we have decided. Thanks all for your replies. I'd rather be safe than sorry! We're gonna keep shopping.

Wise decision.

[Dmich91]

That's what we have decided. Thanks all for your replies. I'd rather be safe than sorry! We're gonna keep shopping.

[coolmom42]

The gross weight of the trailer isn't really meaningful, because you may never load it that full.

You will have, at a minimum, added to the dry weight:
*battery
*propane tanks
*any accessories you add on
*weight distribution hitch
*20 gallons of water = 160 lb (I say this because you want SOME water to travel with, and that's enough to get you through at least one night if you are careful)
*food
*bedding
*kitchen equipment
*clothes
*entertainment such as electronics & toys

Now some people take half the stuff in their house. Some people (like me) travel pretty light. My advice is to start out minimally and add only as NEEDED. Take a notepad to write down small items as they come up.

A good starting point is to assume you will add 1000 lb to the trailer, at the weight it rolls into the dealer.

You may be OK towing for short trips at low speeds on good roads close to your limits. Pushing the limits will not make towing on longer trips a pleasant experience.

The only way to know what you REALLY have is to get some real weights on a loaded trailer.

In your shoes I would shop for a trailer around 5000-5500 dry. Also, don't get a trailer with very little carrying capacity (the difference between the dry and gross weight ratings.)

[IdaD]

Lwiddis wrote:
"I'm not quite sure what your problem is, but they are running E rated LT tires so they have a significant surplus in tire capacity give that it's a half ton based SUV"

Yup, that's all you need! E rated LT tires and that makes it okay...as long as you drive short distances and go slow. Hint - its not my RV...I'm not overloaded.

Do you have a point or is this just a lame attempt to troll the thread?

[JAC1982]

I also wouldn't rely on never towing with your tanks full. What if you want to dry camp somewhere where there is no water within a decent distance and you have to fill up well before you reach your destination. Or, what if you plan on dumping at the campground after your vacation, but the dump station is out of service and you have to find another one somewhere else?

Just not sure why you'd push the limits like that, especially if you've got your family with you.

[nightcrawler]

We have a 2015 Expy EL with the ecoboost. Power wise I have full confidence it could pull the 9K+ weight just fine. The turbo is a beast and there is little to no percieved power loss at altitude. Our camper has a 6250 GVWR and it has absolutely no issue with power pulling it.

I agree with the others that it is the payload that is the issue. I think around 6-7K tops is about the limit that you would want to tow due to tongue weight.

As for the squishy feeling when towing, we had the same thing happen to us when we first towed with it. The one thing that made the most difference was to just inflate the tires to max PSI which was 50. We just finished a 5000 mile tour of the Pacific NW. The Expy did great.

[Lwiddis]

"I'm not quite sure what your problem is, but they are running E rated LT tires so they have a significant surplus in tire capacity give that it's a half ton based SUV"

Yup, that's all you need! E rated LT tires and that makes it okay...as long as you drive short distances and go slow. Hint - its not my RV...I'm not overloaded.

[PDX_Zs]

I think I can give some perspective here.

Our previous tow vehicle was an Expy. A bit older than yours, but similar specs. Now my daughter's commuter. It is set to tow: LT tires, front / rear larger swaybars, and factory tow package. About as good as that rig gets.

Our trailer had a dry claimed weight of 4800lbs. My experience is that I didn't want to go any bigger with that vehicle. Now this includes four people in the truck and two dogs and gear. But not any unusual loadout. We were also at about the payload limit. Yellow sticker 1450lbs.

New tow vehicle is Suburban 2500. And it tows that stupid trailer like it's not even there. Must be time to go bigger.... 🙂

[troubledwaters]

There should be a sticker on the drivers door of the Expy that says something to the effect of "Combined weight of cargo and passengers should not exceed ____ lbs." What is the weight on that sticker? That is the starting point for determining what you can tow, everything else is just speculation.

[IdaD]

Lwiddis wrote:
"They don't tend to tow long distances or go very fast."
Tires NEVER blow if you don't go long distances or very fast...NEVER!

"but it does okay with the load."
And that means they will never have an issue..cuzz its "okay with the load."

I'm not quite sure what your problem is, but they are running E rated LT tires so they have a significant surplus in tire capacity give that it's a half ton based SUV.